Trailer-truck light connection



June 1, 1954 H. D. KISSICK TRAILER-TRUCK LIGHT CONNECTION 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Oct. 2, 1950 Hugh 0. Kiss/ck INVENTOR.

June 1, 1954 H. D. KISSICK 2,680,234

TRAILER-TRUCK LIGHT CONNECTION Filed Oct. 2, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hugh0. Kiss/ck INVENTOR.

Patented June 1, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention comprises novel and useful improvements in electric cablecouplings, and more particularly pertains to electric cable couplingsfor trucks.

An important object of this invention is to provide an electric cablecoupling which may be readily coupled and uncoupled, and which couplingwill not become disconnected under normal conditions of use, and whichcoupling may nevertheless be disconnected in response to a tension onone of the coupling members which will rotate the members relative toeach other.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an electriccable coupling, in which the contact terminals of the coupling areeflectively sealed against the admission of moisture or other foreignmatter, when the coupling is connected.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a cable coupling, inaccordance with the foregoing objects, in which the contact terminals ofthe coupling are yieldingly biased into engagement with each other, andin which the electrical conductors are connected to the contactterminals in an improved manner.

An important feature in this invention resides in the provision of apair of identical body members adapted to be disposed in pivotaloverlapping engagement, each of the members having an arcuate flange onone end, and an arcuate channel adjacent the other end thereof forreceiving the flange, and a plurality of electrical contact terminalsdisposed on the registering faces of the body members, which terminalsare in registry with each other when the body memhere are disposed in apredetermined angular position relative to each other.

Another important feature of this invention resides in the provision ofa cable coupling, in accordance with the foregoing feature, in whicheach of the body members has an annular sealing ring carried by theregistering faces thereof, which sealing rings and both of the membersare adapted to abut each other to prevent the admiss'ion of moisture andother foreign matter disposed within the channel defined by the annularsealing ring.

Still another feature of this invention resides in the provision of anelectrical cable coupling, in accordance with the foregoing feature,together with an insulator block disposed within a transverse bore ineach of the members, with a bore in each of the insulator blocks havinga contact terminal reciprocably disposed therein, and yieldingly biasedinto engagement with the registering contact terminal carried by theother of said blocks.

Yet another feature of this invention resides in the provision of acoupling having insulator block's'therein, in accordance with theforegoing feature, in which the guide rod is carried by each of thecontact terminals, with a cap member carried by each of the guide rodsto limit reciprocation of the terminal within the bores in the insulatorblock, which caps are threadedly received on the guide rods, and whichare provided with a transverse bore for receiving an electricalconductor, the guide rod being adapted to engage the conductor to lockthe conductor to the cap.

These, together with various ancillary objects and features, areattained by this device, a preferred embodiment of which has beenillustrated by way of example only in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the electrical cable coupling,with the body members thereof shown coupled together;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the electrical cable coupling;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional View of the cable coupling, takensubstantially on the plane 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view of one of the body members, showing the contactterminals arrangement;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the other of the body members,also showing the contact terminal arrangement;

Figure 6 is a plan view of one of the body members with the coverthereof removed to show the manner in which the conductors are connectedto the contact terminal; and,

Figure '7 is a fragmentary sectional view of one of the contactterminals.

Reference is now made more specifically to the accompanying drawingswherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout the variousviews, and in which the electrical cable coupling, indicated generallyby the numeral. it, includes first and second body members l2 and M,respectively.

Each of the body members i 2 and M are formed identical to each other,and accordingly a discussion of one of the body members is thoughtsufficient, it being understood that the same or a similar constructionshould be utilized in the other of the body members. I

' The member l2 includes a substantially cylindrical sleeve portion [6having an arcuate flange it on one end thereof, and an elongated portion26 on the portion thereof diametrically opposed to the flange IS. A lug22 having an arcuate inner face 24, disposed concentric with thecylindrical sleeve I6, is formed integrally with the elongated portion20, and has an arcuate channel 25 formed therein, which channel isadapted to receive a flange it of the body member i l, the flange I 8 ofthe body member ll being adapted to be received in a similar channel- 26formed in the body member I 4. As will be appreciated, the flange I8 isprovided with an arcuate rib 28, the channel 26 having a correspondinglyformed arcuate recess 30, for the reception of the corresponding ribcarried by the flange of the other body member M.

The elongated portion 26 is preferably provided with an internalpassageway 32, which passageway communicates with the interior oi thesleeve 16, whereby conductors such as 34' may be disposed. in thepassageway. In order to limit relative pivotal movement of the bodymembers l2 and I4, there may be provided looking pins 34 which areadapted to engage the flanges it, each of which pins is secured to thelug 22 and the elongatedportion 20, transversely of the channel 26, asis clearly apparent from a consideration of Figure l.

The sleeve 16 is provided with an annular groove 35, adjacent the base3% of the body member l2 which is adapted to register with a corre--spending base of the body member M, the groove 36 receiving the rib 40which is carried by an annular resilient ring 42. The ring 42 has a face44' which is adapted toabut the corresponding face of an annular ringcarried by the other'body member Hi, to provide an effective moistureseal between the two body members, when" the latter are connectedtogether. An electrical insulator block 45 is disposed within the sleeve15, and non-rotatably connected thereto by means of the set screw48,'the block having a portion thereof extending into the resilient ring42, to retain the latter in position in the sleeve it; The insulatorblock 46 isprovi'ded' with a plurality of bores 56 therein which extendparallel to the axis of the block, each of which bores has an internalannular' flange 52 intermediate the ends thereof to guidingly receive ashaft 54. Although seven of such bores are shown, it is to be understoodthat any number of the same may be utilized without departing from thespirit of the invention, and that the bores need notbe disposed in theconcentric arrangement shown best in Figures 4, and 6, but may take anysuitable pattern which is deemed desirable for the particular coupling.The contact terminal 58 is carried by one of the shaft 54, and a spring58 is interposed between the terminal 56 and the annular flange 52, toyieldingly bias the terminal 5a in a direction to engage thecorresponding terminal carried by the other body member M. A cap member6i] has an internally threaded bore 62 therein, which bore receives thecorrespondingly threaded end portion 54 of the shaft 54, the cap member60' also having a transversely extending conductorreceiving bore 56which communicates with the bore 62, whereby the shaft 54 may be urgedinto" engagement with the endof the conductor 34 which is inserted inthe bore it. As will be appreciated, the cap member 60 is reciprocablydisposed within the'bore 5d; the lower portion of the cap memberengagingthe annular flange 52, to limit reciprocation of'the terminal 56. withinthe bore 50.

The resilient pad 53, of electrically insulating. material, overlies theupper portion of the in.- sulator block 45, and the cap member 60, toelectrically insulate the cap member 80. from the body members i2 andI4, and a cover plate 703 having a peripheral flange 72 is seated in acorresponding recess 74 in'the outer face o1"v the body members [2 and14, the cover member being secured in position by means of. suitablefasteners. 76, whereby the cover member will retain the pad. 58 and theinsulatorblock 45 in position within;

the sleeve 16.

In operation, it will be appreciated that the body members 12 and i4 maybe selectively coupled and uncoupled from each other by merely rotatingthe body members I2 and l4 relative to each other. It is also thoughtapparent that the coupling I0 may be so disposed on the truck that theconduits (not shown) which holds the condoctors 34 is normally alignedwith the body members 12 and I4 in a direction longitudinally of thecoupling, whereby disconnection of the coupling will be prevented.

It is also thought apparent that when the body members i2 and Id arecoupled to each other, that the contact terminal 55 will be yieldinglybiased into engagement with the corresponding contact terminal carriedby the other body member, and that the annular resilient ring 42 willhave the: face 44 thereof in abutting engagement to-prevent theadmission of moisture or other foreign matter-to the contact terminal56.-

From the foregoing, it is thought that the: operation and constructionof the device will be readily understood, and further discussion there.-for'eisbelieved to be unnecessary. How-ever; nu merous modificationswill readily occur to those skilled in the art after a consideration ofthe foregoing specification and accompanying drawings, it is notintended to limit the invention to that shown and described, butallsuitable modifb cations may be resorted to falling within the scopeofthe appendedclaim.

Having described the claimed as new is:

A cable connector comprising a pair of substantially elongated bodymembers adapted to have portions thereof disposed in pivoted overlappingengagement, means for positioning said body members in a predeterminedangularly adjusted position with respect to'each other, each of saidmembers having a transverse bore therein, an insulator block in each ofsaid bores; said insulator blocks providing opposed registering facesinvention, what is when said body members are engaged, each of" saidinsulator-blocks having a plurality ofbores' parallel to the axis of thetransverse bores in said body members, a counterbore at each end of saidbores, contact rods slidably mounted in said bores, contact heads onsaid rods, resilient members in the counterbores under said contact.heads; cap members threadedly'connectedi to the other end of saidcontact rods, eachof said caps having a transverse cond'uctorreceivingopening therein intersectingthe threaded connection, said. contact headsregistering with each other when said body members are disposed in saidpredetermined angularly adjusted position, a cover plate attached to theexternal. face of. each. of saidv body members, and aresilientinsulating, pad. in.-- tbeirpgsed between said. cover and. saidinsulator References Cited in the file of this" patent" UNITED STATESPA'I'ENTS Number Name Date:

359,982 Plume Mar; 22,1887 484,03i Marble .Oct. 11, 1892 1,687,074Wichert Oct, 9; 1928' 2,127,544 Von I-Ioltz Aug. 23-, 1938 2,287,762Rogoff June23, 1942- 2,486,195- Munsey' Oct. 25,.1949 2,502,307 Basco-rnMar; 28; 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country. Date 17,614. Great Britain0118911.

